Concealed pocket for football players&#39; pants



April 4, 1961 s. A. COOPER CONCEALED POCKET FOR FOOTBALL PLAYERS PANTS Filed June 12. 1958 Stewart A. Cooper 1N VENTOR. BY 15 25m ICONCEALED POCKET FORFOOTBAL PLAYERS PANTS Stewart A. Cooper, l21 l2th St. Nw.,

7 Cedar Rapids, Iowa Filed June 12, 1958, Ser. No. 741,579

z Claims. (c1. 2-'247 The present invention generally relates to a pocket construction and more particularly to a pocket construction for football players pants in which the pocket is concealed and is especially adapted for holding a generally flat blade for the purpose of cleaning mud or other material from the area between the cleats normally worn by football players.

In various sports, cleats are worn by the players for the purpose of obtaining better traction and for preventing the loss of footing. Under certain conditions, such as when the playing field is wet, the area between the cleats will become filled with dirt or other material. For example, football is played even when the turf or playing field is wet and muddy and the participants have had to rely on the team manager or other persons to perform the shoe cleaning duties in the comparatively brief time of time out periods. Therefore, only a small segment of the players would receive this cleaning service with the others neglecting their cleats entirely or resorting to the unsatisfactory use of fingers. Accordingly, it is the primary object of this invention to provide a pocket which is concealed and which is provided on football pants, although it could be on any type of garment worn in connection with athletics, whereby the players may each have their individual cleaning blade so that the same may be used at the players discretion thus providing each individual player with clean cleats for the most effective traction and also providing for ease of cleaning of the cleats during time outs and after a game or practice session so that the shoes will be in clean condition at all times during storage or periods of non-use.

A further object of the present invention, is to provide a concealed pocket for holding a fiat wooden or plastic blade generally located int he region of the mid thigh portion of the pants and which may be incorporated into .the thigh guard pocket or provided separately. so as to manner as to afford complete {protection for all players concerned, .the same being positioned in such a manner to prevent any inconvenience or injury to either the "offensive or defensive, players. l a

. Another object of the present invention is. to provide such a pocket which may also be incorporated into officials trousers for aiding the ofiicials in covering plays made duringf'games played on wet turf thus providing the oflicials with the opportunity to be more'directly asso- ..ciated with the play.

, Another important feature of the present 'irivention is A toprovide a concealed pocket which is extremelysimple in construction, easy to attach to existing, relatively inexpensive to manufacture.

garments and i f'o is 2,977,602 Patented Apr. 4, 1961 will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and' operation as more fullyhereinafter described and claimed, reference being bad to the accompanying drawings forming apart hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which: Figure l is a side elevation of a pair of football shell pants and showing the position of the hidden slot pocket; Figure 2 is a fragmentary elevation with portions of the pocket broken away, as viewed from the inside of the pants;

Figure 3 is a vertical sectional view taken substantially upon a plane passing along section line 3-3 .of Figure 2 illustrating the details of construction of the pocket;

Figure 4 is a perspective view of the blade which is received within the pocket and which is used for cleaning the cleats; and

Figure 5 is an elevational view from the inside of the leg of the football pants showing the hidden slot pocket incorporated into a thigh guard pocket and showing the relationship thereof to the edge of the thigh guard.

Referring now specifically to the drawings, the numeral 10 generally designates the hidden or concealed pocket of the present invention which is incorporated into the construction of the right leg 12 of a pair of football pants generally designated by the numeral 14, which are provided with the usual side seam 16 and thigh guard 18 disposed in a thigh guard pocket 20, as seen in Figure 5. The football pants are also provided with the usual hip pad22 all of which represents conventional construction. The pocket 10 of-the present invention includes an inner panel or wall of material 24 which is secured to the trouser leg by horizontal rows of stitching 28 at the top and bottom and vertical rows of stitching 28 along each side. The panel or wall 24 is disposed on the interior side of the pants leg 12 and the pants leg 12 is provided with an outwardly opening slit 30 adjacent the upper edge thereof, the edges of the slot 30 being provided with stitching 32 which may be somewhat in the nature of button hole stitching. The slit 30 is disposed adjacant to the upper end of the wall 24 and when the plastic or wooden stick 34 is inserted therein, the sick 34 will normally terminate adjacent to but slightly below the slit 30. The blade or stick 34 is provided with rounded end edges 36 which facilitate the cleaning of the cleats and also provide for ease of insertion and removal of the blade 34 through the slit 30. The thigh guard pocket 2%) is secured to the trousers leg 12 by a peripheral row or rows of stitching 38 and the panel or wall 24 is disposed in such a manner that one edge thereof is coincidental either with the stem 16 or the thigh guard pocket 20.

The loop stitching 32 about the slit 30 is instrumental in retaining the blade 34 secure in the pocket with the top of the blade being generally of an inch below the slit 30; Figure 5 is an inside fragmentary view in which one of the many variations that maybe used is illustrated by incorporating the hidden pocket into the thigh guard pocket itself.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction, location and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications I These together with other objects andzadvantages which I and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention asclaimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows: a 1 1. In a pair of football players pants, the combination of a leg member, a relatively. large panel stitched to the inside of the thigh portion of said leg member and providing a relativelylarge pocket for a thigh guardpad,

anda vertically elongated panel stitchedalong its marginal edges to the inside of the thigh portion of satd leg member adjacent and at one side of the thigh guard pad pocket and defining a vertically elongated pocket, said leg member being provided with a horizontal slit adjacent but spaced downwardly from the upper end of the vertically elongated pocket whereby to provide for the latter an outwardly opening entrance.

2. In a pair of football players pants, the combination of a leg member, a relatively large panel stitched to the inside of the thigh portion of said leg member and providing a relatively large pocket for a thigh guard pad, a side edge portion of said panel projecting laterally to one side of said thigh guard pad pocket, and vertical and horizontal lines of stitching provided in said laterally projecting side edge portion of said panel and in said leg member and defining therebetween a verticallyelongated pocket, said leg member being provided with a horizontal slit adjacent but spaced downwardly from the upper end of said vertically elongated pocket whereby to provide for the latter an outwardly opening entrance.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,415,299 Blowers May 9, 1922 1,767,372 King June 24, 1930 1,780,356 Liberman Nov. 4, 1930 2,135,213 Levry et a1. Nov. 1, 1938 2,282,545 Rosenstein May 12, 1942 2,521,767 Zecha Sept. 12, 1950 2,609,537 Pfaff Sept. 9, 1952 2,716,754 Hirsch Sept. 6, 1955 2,877,771 Slotoroff Mar. 17, 1959 

